MXR M108 10-Band Graphic EQ

Very basic 10 band EQ. 1/4 in and output, on/off switch 18v dc adapter jack, can't run on batteries. Here's the frequencies it controls:

volume (input)
31.25hz
62.5hz
125hz
250hz
500hz
1khz
2khz
4khz
8khz
16khz
gain (output)

UTILIZATION

Easy to set up. Either in front of the amp and it changes the guitar tone, or in the effects loop of the amp and it controls the entire signal chains (much more dramatic difference). Simple cut or boost controls. Plug it in, set the volume controls to where it's highest without them blinking (if they blink the levels are too high and it's distorting). From there just start boosting or cutting the frequencies until you like how it sounds. A basic understanding is the lower 3 are bass and control how much low end you have in your tone. Too much and it gets muddy and starts farting out, too little and it's too bright and can be painful to hear. Next 4 are mids, they control the definition as well as the perceived "size" of your tone. Cutting gives you more definition but takes away volume and thickness/size. Boosting gives you a much fuller and bigger tone but loses definition. Metal music generally cuts the mids slightly to give definition but not too much to where it sounds thin. The last 3 are the treble frequencies. They control the high end or brightness. Boost too much and it can sound ice picky (painfully bright), cut too much and it can sound dull and too bassy.

Cutting the mids will also be boosting the bass and treble simultaneously, boosting mids will be cutting bass and treble. Same goes for boosting and cutting bass, and boosting and cutting treble. The overall goal is to find a nice happy medium where nothing is too bright or bassy and the right amount of size and definition for the style of music you are playing.

SOUND QUALITY

Nothing really to say about the sound quality, it's just an EQ. Made to boost of cut frequencies to help tailor you tone.

OVERALL OPINION

There's a reason this is the most common EQ pedal. It's been used from Randy Rhoads (he used the old blue vintage one) all the way to Machine Head. It's very tweakable and very rugged. Build like a tank so it can take a beating and keep on working. I'd recommend this to anyone wanting to further tailor their sound beyond what their amp can do.

This is a 10 band eq pedal by MXR that allows 12db of cut or boost, with a level and a gain slider.

Pretty simple! Each EQ is also illuminated with red LEDs so you can see on stage where it's set. True bypass also.



UTILIZATION

EQ is probably the most important tool for every guitar player in terms of tone shaping. In order to make anything sound good you have to know the EQ spectrum of the guitar, what parts of it sound good and bad and work in what way etc. And so no beginning player would be able to use this properly without knowing that stuff first. So even though the manual provides some extra samples and descriptions, I'd say to use the pedal effectively, you'd need some previous experience with EQs.

After that, using it is very easy. Set it up on the loop for the biggest dramatic tonal change or out in front to color it, or BOTH, one EQ pedal for each.



SOUND QUALITY

It is an EQ pedal there is technically no sound that the pedal offers. It's also true bypass, assuring that there is no color added to the original signal. What you do with it when you tweak the EQs will change the sound. Sort of like extra EQ knobs on your amp but now more specific, related to the frequencies.

So in terms of sound It's not very fair to comment and doesn't make much sense to add a rating of any sort I feel.

But in terms of the quality of the pedal itself and I will rate it here. It doesn't add any color as far as I'm concerned but the thing the lacks with this pedal is most likely the footswitch. I've owned two of these, one where the switch just stopped working and the other was noisy as hell. By that I mean, when you click the EQ in you hear the loudest click/pop noise EVER. Even in a live band situation if there's everything going on the click/pop noise is as loud as my guitar signal, it's very VERY annoying and I'm not sure if this pedal was made that way or if it's a defect. Others have said the same thing so maybe I'm not alone on this. Maybe this pedal was designed to be on all the time? Well it sure seems like I'll have to use it that way..



OVERALL OPINION

Overall it's a good pedal. Most EQ pedals generally are no fuss pedals and simple to use. Again the only problem is the switch with this one and it's super loud pop. If you're looking for a good EQ with 10 bands and plan on keeping it on at all times this is usable. But if you're looking for an EQ you'd wanna kick in and off quite often, then look elsewhere, this is way too noisy in my opinion.

- 10 bands of EQ

- Sliders for volume and gain (pre, post)

- Top mounted jacks

- LED lit sliders!

- Powered by 18v adapter

- Solid enclosure (heavy!)



UTILIZATION

If you know what you are doing in terms of EQ, this one is a piece of cake to set up. If not, I'd advise working with each band individually until you get a good handle on what they do. Ten bands gives you a pretty thorough level of control over your tone. Personally, I think parametric EQs can be more useful, but most guitarists seem to want a graphic one.

The level and gain sliders make the 108 ideal for use as a boost. You can dial in as much volume as desired, while the EQ can be used to maintain a transparent signal or introduce a mid-hump.

The LED lit sliders is a really cool feature, and makes adjustments on a dark stage quite a bit easier.

The 18v adapter is a little annoying. There aren't a whole lot of power supplies that will cover 18v, and carrying around an extra adapter isn't what I want to be doing.

Seems to be very well built, but I did notice certain LEDs started to fade eventually.

Do resist the urge to run this in a V or smiley shape. Yes, it can sound brutal in your bedroom. But without the mids, your guitar is not going to cut through a mix.

SOUND QUALITY

About as good as you are going to get in pedal form. Dead silent, none of the noise that accompanies cheaper pedals like the boss GE7. It does what its supposed to do. The full 10 bands gives you a tremendous amount of control, and really extends the sounds you can push your setup to attain.

To control the tone of your guitar going into the amp, run it in front of the amp. It can be pretty powerful after a dirt pedal. Used as a boost, you are obviously going to want to run it in front of the amp. To shape the overall tone of the amp itself, run it in the effects loop.

Didn't really have any issues with the sound quality.

OVERALL OPINION

If you are looking for a graphic EQ in pedal form, this is the one to get. Plenty of bands, solid constructions, volume and gain control, noiseless, and LED lit. A substantial list of features, all of them useful.

That said, I've noticed that graphic EQs tend to be overhyped among guitarists. I know that the shapes can look cool, but in most cases, the problem can be resolved within the guitar and amp EQ. If not, a parametric EQ can usually be more useful. Some favorites of mine include the BJFE Sea Blue EQ and the Fromel Shape EQ.

The MXR M108 is a 10-Band equalizer pedal that allows the player to boost or cut 10 different frequencies that most affect the guitar's sound. The unit is built like a brick s**t-house, as most MXR products are. Included with the M108 is a special power supply made just for this pedal that operates at 18 volts.

The pedal has a very cool textured finish that resists chipping or scratching, and looks great too! The sliders (10 frequency, 1 volume boost/cut, and 1 gain boost/cut) all have built in leds, which light when the "effect" is engaged. This is very handy for dark stages/rehearsals and looks great as well. The switch feels very well-built like the rest of the unit and has just the right amount of "give".



UTILIZATION

Using this unit can be intimidating and overwhelming, due to the plethora of sounds available, as well as the gain boost. That said, the amount of tweaking and options give you the ability to completely change the sound and response of your amp!


SOUND QUALITY


I found that the unit was much more effective when used in my amps' effects loops. Used straight into the front of the amp, the effect was still audible, but much less present. Only the input signal's sound was being sculpted, whereas when used in the loop, the entire sound of the amp is being sent through the equalizer and being effected.

At the push of slider I was able to go from a slight mid boost for leads, while cutting out some low-end flub, to a huge, modern scooped rhythm tone by setting the sliders to the classic "V" shape. This cut my mids and boosted my lows and highs around 2-4K which made my tone sizzle and cut through just enough for a razor sharp attack!

Of course any and every sound in between these two extremes are possible with some tweaking and experimentation.
This unit is great for recording too. If you're not getting the right sound from your modeling unit or software, just hit the M108 before going to your DAW and cut and boost to your heart's content!

OVERALL OPINION

I can't imagine a rig that wouldn't benefit from this pedal. Unless you have the exact tone from your rig that you want, you need this pedal! It can be used live or in the studio to tweak your sound to your liking, and has a great gain boost built in also. To think, I almost sold this pedal to fund another effects purchase. Thank God I kept it! Buy one and you won't know how you got along without it!